A comparison

One of my late Yule gifts was the two-volume trade paperback set of Batman: Under the Hood, which I wanted because of Countdown and my resulting curiosity about Jason Todd. I've only given it a first read so far, so won't really write about it at this point, but I've read it closely enough to compile this list of similarities/differences between his story and that of the Winter Soldier, just for fun.


Origin:

Winter Soldier: As Bucky, he was a part of the Captain America mythos from the very start, appearing in the first Golden Age issue of Cap's book. In the original tale, Cap was doing his thing, Bucky discovered his secret identity by accident, and Cap took him on as a partner. In the current version, the military trained and assigned Bucky to Cap. In either case, they almost always worked together, right up until Bucky's death and Cap's disappearance. Their relationship seems to have been one of best friends or brothers.

Jason Todd: A Gotham City street kid, the Batman caught him stealing tires from the Batmobile. Somehow this resulted in the hero taking him on as the second Robin (the first, Dick Grayson, having left the nest and taken on the identity of Nightwing). Their relationship seems to have had mainly a father/son dynamic.


Cause of death:

Winter Soldier: Died heroically, trying to disarm a bomb as it flew across the English channel; the bomb exploded and he and Captain America both fell to the freezing waters below.

Jason Todd: After a long (and eventually successful) search for his biological mother, he was beaten with a crowbar by the Joker, and then he (and she) were trapped in a building which was exploded, also by the Joker.


Actual cause of death:

Winter Soldier: Editorial/authorial mandate. Stan didn't want to deal with kid sidekicks in the new Marvel Universe. His death also had the effect of converting happy-go-lucky Golden Age Cap into angst-ridden Silver Age Cap.

Jason Todd: Fan mandate. DC left it up to the readers, setting up a vote as to whether the character should live or die. I had been under the impression that it was a landslide sort of thing, but apparently it was actually quite close.


Why he's not dead anymore:

Winter Soldier: Turns out that when he and Cap were dropped into the ocean, the Russians (specifically a Major Karpov with a grudge against the Captain) heard about it and ran to see what they could find. What they found was the dead body of Bucky, missing an arm but otherwise in good shape. They revived him, discovered that his injuries had caused significant brain damage in the form of (of course!) amnesia. However, his fighting skills were intact. They supplied him with a new set of memories and turned him into a Soviet assassin, keeping him in suspended animation when he wasn't actually in use, which is why he's still so young--he didn't spend all that much time in the world getting older. (Not actually all that complicated of a story.)

Jason Todd: From what I can gather, it was an effect of Superboy Prime, trapped in a world with no one but old Superman, old Lois, and Alexander Luthor from COIE to keep him company, punching ...um, something? and changing time and reality itself. One of the particular things that changed was that Jason Todd was no longer dead. Unfortunately, he was still in his grave, and of course had never been treated for any of the injuries he sustained when he was killed. So he dug his way out of his coffin (lucky for him the Gotham cemeteries don't require coffins to be interred in massive concrete vaults, which is pretty much the standard requirement everywhere else). Spent a year in a hospital in a vegetative state (due to Joker-inflicted brain damage that kicked in not long after his revival). Escaped, spent a year living on the street until a fellow vagrant realized who he was (because his fighting skills were intact, if instinctual at that point). Spent a year recovering his physical health (but none of his mental acuity) at Ra's Al Ghul's compound until Ra's decided he wasn't improving and had to go, at which point daughter Talia threw him into a Lazarus Pit--apparently restoring his higher functions--and sent him on his way. (Pretty much the definition of a complicated story.)


Why he was acting like a villain:

Winter Soldier: Soviet brainwashing and mental conditioning. And (according to the new backstory--which I like, by the way) he always did have a bit of a mean streak (as Faustus notes), and no particular problem with taking lives in the course of a mission. He was a soldier in a war, after all.

Jason Todd: Debatable. Possibly some of his more extreme acts were due to some of the things that have happened to him (supposedly the Lazarus Pit can have a detrimental effect on people). But, according to the books, he always did have a bit of a mean streak (as Alfred notes). And seems to have decided early on that Batman's never-kill methodology wasn't always the wisest course.


Why he stopped acting like a villain:

Winter Soldier: When Captain America used the Cosmic Cube to restore WS's memories, he immediately abandoned his handler, Lukin. However, he has not, thus far, made any attempt to be a superhero. He spent some time working for Nick Fury, some more time seeking revenge against Lukin and the Red Skull, and right now it looks like he's going to take on the role of Cap for a while, under some duress. He may no longer be a villain, but that doesn't make him a straight-up hero. He'd make a lousy Avenger, but a pretty good SHIELD agent.

Jason Todd: Has he? Although he seems, via Countdown, to be on a path toward some sort of redemption, it's a slow one.


What he thinks of his old mentor/partner:

Winter Soldier: He avoided Cap for a long time, ashamed of what he had done as WS, and never really had a chance to reunite before Cap was killed. He admires Cap and what he stood for, but doesn't seem really to want to follow his example.

Jason Todd: At one point he seemed to feel fairly angry and betrayed by Batman; whether that's still true, I don't know (he no longer seems to be angry with the other Robins), but he certainly does not seem to have changed his opinion of the effectiveness of Batman's methods.


Legacy?

Winter Soldier: Appears to be preparing to take on the role of Captain America after his death, although you never know what's going to happen in that book. If so, he'll put his own spin on it and not try to be Cap. He wouldn't think that that was possible.

Jason Todd: There were rumors that Jason would be taking on the Batman mantle (after Batman's also-rumored death), but if so it hasn't happened yet. Also supposedly he's going to be the new (?) Red Robin, according to that giant DC teaser image.


Costume?

Winter Soldier: The Winter Soldier has a great costume. It looks good, appears to be fairly functional (once they got rid of that cable thing on the original arm), and seems properly stealthy for the sort of work he does. If he is going to be the new Cap, I hope it's not for long so he can get back into his WS gear fast!

Jason Todd: The "hood" took some time to grow on me. As for the rest of the costume--armored shirt/jeans/boots with a leather jacket--it's not really a costume, but it looks all right and seems to work for him. It's a hell of a lot better looking than the Red Robin costume in that giant DC teaser image (ugh!).


How's the story?

Winter Soldier: Awesome. Duh.

Jason Todd: A lot better than I had expected. Apart from the whole "Superboy punch" thing, and I have to say that it would take a hell of a story to make up for that. But as for the rest of what I've read? Not bad.